Flipper

Based on the 1963 movie of the same name (which starred Chuck Branded / The Rifleman Connors and Luke Halpin), Flipper was a clever dolphin who was always on hand (or fin) to help out Coral Key Park residents Sandy (Halpin) and Bud (Tommy Norden) and their father, Porter Ricks (Brian Kelly), who was Chief Ranger at the Florida marine reserve. 

Veteran Hollywood Western star Andy Devine appeared in earlier episodes as old salty sea-dog Hap Gorman, but was eventually replaced by Scandinavian Oceanographer Ulla Norstrand (Ulla Stromstedt). The Dolphin who helped Sandy and Bud through a series of adventures and out of a number of dangerous situations was trained by Ricou Browning, who had previously appeared under heavy make-up in the 1954 horror movie The Creature From The Black Lagoon.

Published on December 13th, 2018. Written by Laurence Marcus for Television Heaven.